AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We danced slowly to the song in our heads, mentally singing it, and a couple of times I’d forget and sing out a line. “Want to get a room?” I whispered in Grace’s ear after a couple of minutes. It was only a little after midnight, and even though I had asked, we continued to shuffle around to the song in our heads.
At first Grace didn’t reply and was determined to see the gig through, but I knew with only five weeks to go until her due date, she was having trouble sleeping. She needed her rest because she’d been struggling with growing pains and indigestion. When she wasn’t disturbed with those, her sleep was disrupted by her frequent trips during the night to pee.
“Does this mean I’m on a promise?” she asked, lowering her eyes and pretending to act coy.
“Always, Baby,” I replied, stroking her back, then I cupped my hand at the base of her skull and pulled her head closer. I pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead and pulled back to look at her.
We both chuckled as I slipped my hand into Grace’s and led her over to the guys in my band to say our goodnights.
“Damn, Cole,” Scuds protested when I leaned in for a hug, “next you’ll be telling us you can only come on tour if Grace can come too. Oh, wait, you did that already,” he teased, shaking his head.
“Yeah, don’t forget I’ve seen how many attempts you’ve had over the years trying to find a girl like Grace. Wait until it’s your turn and we’ll see how great you are at controlling these feelings if you find her.”
“Pussy whipped,” Moz declared, through a cough and Fletch grinned widely. I sighed and gave him an is-that-the-best-you’ve-got look.
“Ah, come on, look at her. This little dude’s ready to drop, give the guy a break,” Fletch offered, as he came to my rescue by nodding at Grace’s belly.
“See, he’s the only one among you with any sense of occasion,” I agreed.
I was happy to own how my behavior had changed. When I met Grace, she was the one girl I never saw coming, and the only one I never wanted to get away from. Our relationship was built on trust and Grace made me want to be ‘the real me’ and not the front man from a band living up to the expectations of the public. People could think as they liked and judge me how they wanted to, but I was damned if I’d let them dictate when I could put her first.
Hugging the guys one by one, each of them wished Grace well, and we headed for the door just as Stone Gorge took their places behind their instruments on the small stage again.
As we were driven home in the back of the black Sedan Grace snuggled in beside me, her head on my shoulder and she sighed, contentedly. “How did I live without you?”
“I’ve got no idea, Baby, it must have been miserable for you,” I replied, trying to keep a serious tone to my voice.
Turning her face up to look at me she laughed, “You’re an ass, you know that?”
“Ah, you mean I’m a fine ass,” I corrected, reiterating Bekki’s description of me, and Grace burst out laughing.
“That poor girl’s face,” she muttered reflecting on the incident and it was my turn to laugh.
“She’s lucky you’re secure. If a guy made a remark like that to me about you, I’d knock him the fuck out. Any man fantasizing about being in bed with you that isn’t me doesn’t deserve to live,” I stated.
“Oh, I adore the caveman that threatens to break free in you at times.”
“Yeah?” I asked, pretending I took her seriously.
“Hell, yeah, it’s hot,” she agreed.
“How hot?”
“Hmm,” she hummed, chuckling as she processed my question and I took a moment just to look at her. Pregnancy made Grace radiantly beautiful and the way the moonlight caught her features enthralled me. My eyes settled on her soft plump lips and I fought the urge to kiss her as I waited for her reply. “On a scale of one to five, maybe a four.”
Inhaling deeply, I sighed, pretending I felt let down. “Only a four, huh? And what would it take to get a five?” I wondered aloud.
“Sing to me. You have no idea what your voice does to me, Cole Harkin. Goose bumps doesn’t even begin to explain what that rich tone of yours does to me. All I know is I want to rip off your clothes.”
Immediately I began singing the old Joe Cocker hit, “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” causing her to crack up laughing, before she lurched forward, holding her belly.
Laughter gave way to concern as I furrowed my brow and looked her over.
“Jesus, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied, rubbing her lower belly as she straightened her spine in the seat. “The sooner this little cherub is on the outside now the better,” she muttered.
We sat quietly in the car after this, me holding her close and rubbing her arm. Fortunately, by the time we made it through the gates to our home, the pain she’d felt had subsided.
